PPC management is the ongoing work of running paid search and shopping campaigns: choosing keywords, writing ads, setting bids and, the part most agencies skip, constantly cutting what does not convert and pushing budget toward what does.
This guide explains what that work involves week to week, how a well-run account is structured, the metrics that actually matter, and how to tell whether whoever manages your account is running it or coasting. If you are weighing the cost, our separate guide on how much PPC management costs covers pricing in detail.
What PPC Actually Is
Pay-per-click advertising means you pay only when someone clicks your ad. On Google Ads and Microsoft Ads, you bid on the keywords people type into search. Every search triggers an auction that weighs your bid against the relevance and quality of your ad and landing page, so the highest bidder does not automatically win. A more relevant ad can appear above a competitor paying more per click.
The main campaign types a PPC manager works with are:
- Search: text ads shown against keyword searches. The highest-intent format, because the person is already looking.
- Shopping: product listings with images and prices, driven by a product feed rather than keywords.
- Performance Max: Google’s automated campaign type that spreads budget across Search, Shopping, YouTube, Display, Discover and Gmail.
- Display and video: visual ads on websites and YouTube, used mainly for awareness and remarketing.
What a PPC Agency Actually Does With Your Budget
Setting up a campaign is the easy 10%. The other 90% is the ongoing work that decides whether the budget turns into customers. A campaign left on autopilot after launch is a campaign quietly wasting money.
Before launch
- Conversion tracking. Every form, call and purchase that matters is set up as a conversion and tested end to end. Without this, the platform optimises toward clicks rather than customers.
- Keyword research. Grouping searches by intent and separating people ready to buy from people researching.
- Account structure. Campaigns and ad groups organised so each group of keywords gets an ad and a landing page that match it.
- Negative keywords from day one. Excluding searches that will never convert, such as “free”, “jobs” or “course” for many service businesses.
Every week
- Search term review. Reading the actual searches that triggered ads and adding negatives for the irrelevant ones. This is the single highest-value routine task.
- Budget pacing. Moving spend toward campaigns producing conversions at an acceptable cost and away from those that are not.
- Bid and target adjustments by device, location and time of day where the data supports it.
Every month
- Ad copy tests. New headlines and descriptions tested against the current best performers.
- Landing page tests. Because the page often matters more than the ad. See our conversion rate optimisation guide.
- Structure review. Splitting out keywords that deserve their own budget and pausing what has not earned its place.
- Reporting that ties spend to leads or revenue, with what changed and why.
The Metrics That Actually Matter
PPC platforms report dozens of numbers. Only a few decide whether the account is working:
- Cost per acquisition (CPA): what you pay for each lead or sale. The headline number for most lead-generation accounts.
- Return on ad spend (ROAS): revenue divided by ad spend. The headline number for e-commerce.
- Conversion rate: the share of clicks that become leads or sales, which shows whether the landing page is doing its job.
- Search impression share: how often your ads appear when they could, which tells you whether budget or ad quality is holding you back.
- Quality Score: Google’s rating of keyword, ad and page relevance. Useful as a diagnostic, not a goal.
Clicks, impressions and click-through rate are diagnostics. A report that leads with them rather than with cost per lead or revenue is avoiding the question you are paying to have answered.
Automation and Smart Bidding: Useful, Not Hands-Off
Google’s automated bidding strategies, such as Maximise Conversions or Target CPA, are genuinely good when they have enough accurate conversion data. They are also only as good as that data. Feed them double-counted or poorly defined conversions and they will confidently optimise toward the wrong outcome. A PPC manager’s job with automation is to feed it clean signals, set sensible targets, and watch for drift, not to switch it on and walk away.
How PPC Management Is Usually Priced
- Flat monthly fee: predictable and scoped to the work.
- Percentage of ad spend: commonly 10–20%, scaling with budget.
- Performance-based: tied to a target CPA or ROAS. Rarer, and it needs airtight tracking.
For what drives the number up or down, and typical ranges in India, see how much PPC management actually costs.
Signs Your Account Is Being Run, Not Coasting
Ask to see the account itself, not just a PDF report, and check the change history. A well-run account shows:
- Negative keyword lists updated in the last couple of weeks.
- Ad copy or landing page tests started in the last month.
- Conversion actions that are verified and not duplicated.
- Budget shifted between campaigns based on results, not left static for months.
- Reports that explain what changed and why, not just what the numbers were.
A surprising number of accounts run for months on broken or partial tracking, which means every optimisation decision is based on bad data. Our PPC management services start with a tracking audit for exactly this reason, connected to the same conversion tracking infrastructure that should sit under every paid channel.
In-House or Agency?
Running PPC yourself can work well for a single-platform account with a small budget, especially if you have time to learn and review search terms weekly. An agency earns its fee when you run several platforms, when spend is large enough that small efficiency gains pay for the management, or when tracking and landing pages need specialist work. Either way, keep the ad accounts in your own name so you never lose the history.
Still deciding whether paid search should be your first channel at all? Our comparison of SEO vs PPC covers when each makes sense.
Keyword Match Types and Negative Keywords
Match types decide how closely a search must match your keyword before your ad can show. Exact match targets searches with the same meaning as the keyword. Phrase match allows searches that include the keyword’s meaning with extra words around it. Broad match lets Google show ads for any search it considers related, which can find new customers but also spends on irrelevant searches if not controlled.
Negative keywords are the counterweight. A shared negative list covering jobs, training, free, DIY, competitor names you do not want and irrelevant locations stops wasted clicks across every campaign. Broad match only works well alongside smart bidding, accurate conversion tracking and regular search term reviews.
Landing Pages: Where PPC Budgets Are Won or Lost
The ad earns the click; the landing page earns the customer. Sending paid traffic to a homepage usually wastes much of it, because the visitor has to search again for what the ad promised. Each major keyword group should land on a page that repeats the promise in the headline, loads fast on mobile, shows proof and makes the next step obvious. Landing page experience also feeds into Quality Score, so a better page can lower what you pay per click as well as raising the number of clicks that convert. Our landing page service builds pages for exactly this.
Beyond Google: Microsoft Advertising
Microsoft Advertising shows ads on Bing and partner sites, and can import Google Ads campaigns in a few clicks. Its audience is smaller, but clicks are often cheaper and the audience skews toward desktop users at work, which suits many B2B and higher-value consumer offers. Once a Google Ads account is working well, adding Microsoft Advertising is usually one of the lowest-effort ways to find extra conversions at a similar or lower cost. It still needs its own conversion tracking, negative keywords and budget review rather than being left as a straight copy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a PPC manager do day to day?
Reviews search terms and adds negative keywords, moves budget between campaigns based on cost per conversion, tests new ads and landing pages, checks that tracking is firing, and reports on leads or revenue generated.
How long does it take for PPC to work?
Ads can bring traffic the day they are approved. Reaching a stable, efficient cost per lead usually takes one to three months, depending on how quickly conversion data builds up.
Is Performance Max better than Search campaigns?
Not automatically. Performance Max can scale well, especially for e-commerce with a good product feed, but it offers less control and visibility. Many accounts run Search for their highest-intent keywords alongside Performance Max.
Should I own my Google Ads account?
Yes. The account, its conversion history and its audiences are business assets. An agency should work through managed access that you can revoke at any time.
Not sure your current PPC spend is working as hard as it should? Send us the account and we will tell you straight.